bserver O Happy 4th of July!
EAST COUNTY
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
SPORTS
Lacy Janson makes the 2012 Olympic team. PAGE 11A.
OUR TOWN
Thursday, july 5, 2012
SPOTLIGHT
NEWS
Campers saddle up at Rosaire’s Riding Academy. PAGE 1B.
Gary Roberts mixes a little wine and magic. PAGE 5A.
communication update By Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor beauty and the feet
Services remain intact at Cascades, RioMar Hotwire Communications has taken over voice, video and data services for the Cascades and RioMar communities.
+ Super headgear for Super Boat If the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix offered a prize for most patriotic topper, it would surely have gone to Nora Murphy, 11, from Lakewood Ranch. Nora attends Sarasota Christian School. She viewed the race from the comfort of the Members Party at the Ritz-Carlton Beach Club on Lido Key.
EAST COUNTY — Cascades Homeowners Association President Debby Landes held her breath when her community’s voice, data and audio services provider filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in May. But now, she can breathe a bit easier. Hotwire Communications successfully acquired the contract June 21 for data, video and data
services for Cascades, as well as its neighboring RioMar community. The communities’ original provider, Capital Infrastructure,
SEE CASCADES / PAGE 10A
faith-filled fun By Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor
Operation Round Up, Peace River Electric Cooperative’s charitable foundation, has awarded scholarships to 10 local high school graduates. Among the winners were Braden River High School’s McKenzie Hanlon, Emily Melchior and Amanda Peebles and Lakewood Ranch High School’s Theresa Barkasy, Mariah Gomez, Kelsey Greene, Samuel Harper and Madeline Winship.
SEE OUR TOWN / PAGE 2A
Pam Eubanks
Wendy Scott said she normally facilitates dog rescues but is focusing on cats and kittens because there is a need for it.
Volunteer aids feline adoption efforts
ect B-Town, a weeklong overnight camp that incorporates community service with games, outings, church services and other festivities. More than 100 local middleand high-school students participated in the fifth annual camp,
EAST COUNTY — Wendy Scott didn’t think twice about bringing a dozen stray kittens into her East County home last month. “I thought it would be a breeze (to find them families),” said Scott, a longtime animal-rescue volunteer. She shook her head, before adding: “I placed two in one month.” With cat and kitten season in full peak and several longtime cat and kitten rescuers on leave, local rescue organizations are struggling to find the animals permanent homes. Scott, now more than ever, is determined to help. In recent weeks, she formally launched her new organization, Rescue One Until There Are None. The group’s focus is not pulling animals from shelters, but, rather, supporting other rescue operations by planning cat and kitten adoption events at local venues, as well as handling other administrative and marketingoriented tasks. “I want to be a resource for
SEE B-TOWN / PAGE 10A
SEE CATS / PAGE 10A
+ East County youths honor animals
+ PRECO doles out scholarships
By Pam Eubanks | News Editor
East County resident Wendy Scott has started an organization that assists local cat- and kitten-rescue groups by organizing events.
Courtesy of Cheryl Eason
When East County youths Rachel Weronik and Abby Misiura visited Honor Animal Sanctuary recently, they didn’t go empty-handed. Instead, they brought a check for $750 to the organization. The girls raised the money by selling flowers made of duct tape to their classmates at Gene Witt Elementary School during the last few weeks of school.
cat’s meow
Pam Eubanks
Julia Damico, Charlie Gillam and Louisa Ellis show children how to make happy faces out of rice cakes and other ingredients.
Students embrace Project B-Town More than 100 students from Woodland The Community Church spent at least three hours each day participating in service projects throughout the community as part of a weeklong overnight camp. EAST COUNTY — Fifteen-yearold Lizzie Reynolds could have been away on summer vacation, lounging by the pool or working a summer job. Instead, she sat under the pavilion at Lakewood Ranch’s Central Park community with a paintbrush in hand, her eyes focused on the face of 5-year-
old Jacob Branson. She leaned back for a good look before putting a final touch on the baseball she was painting on his cheek Wednesday, June 27. “It’s a creative, fun way to serve the community, and you get to be with your friends,” said Reynolds, a participant in Woodland The Community Church’s Proj-
INDEX Classifieds ........ 13B Cops Corner..........7A
Crossword.......... 12B Neighborhood...... 1B
Opinion.................8A Real Estate........ 11B
Sports................ 11A Weather............. 12B
Vol. 13, No. 27 | Two sections YourObserver.com